Arkansas Governor to Pardon Son for 2003 Crime

This is a tale of a son asking a father for forgiveness — in a very public, very formal way.

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe (D) plans to pardon his own son for a drug crime committed more than decade ago, after he received a letter pleading to “Mr. Governor” for “a second chance at life,” reports KATV in Little Rock, Arkansas.

“At the time of my arrest I was living in a fantasy world, not reality,” wrote Kyle Beebe, 34, in his application seeking a pardon for his 2003 arrest for possession of marijuana. He received three years supervised probation, plus fines, for the felony conviction.

“I was young and dumb,” he continued in his letter. “I am asking for a second chance to be the man that I know that I can be.”

The Arkansas Parole Board recommended the Gov.’s son for pardon on Oct. 20. These notices are then posted for 30 days, during which time the Governor decides whether to accept or deny the requests.

Gov. Beebe, who says he has granted some 700 pardons since taking office in 2006, tells KATV that he “would have done it [granted the pardon] a long time ago” had his son just asked for one.

“But he took his sweet time about asking,” Gov. Beebe says. “He was embarrassed. He’s still embarrassed, and frankly, I was embarrassed and his mother was embarrassed.”

A spokesperson for the Arkansas parole board tells KATV that Kyle Beebe received no special treatment and that it recommended nine other people with similar drug crime records in the latest batch of pardon applications.

[KATV]

Write to Elizabeth Barber at elizabeth.barber@timeasia.com.